Kelso
rear unloading box



Sept. 20, 1966 E. L. KELSO REAR UNLOADING BOX 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 5, 1964 EN 'ENTOR.

Sept. 20, 1966 E. L. KELSO REAR UNLOADING BOX 5 SheetsSheet 2 Filed Nov. 5, 1964 Emu/v ksa BY FIG 5 Sept. 20, 1966 E. L. KELSO 3,273,723

REAR UNLOADING BOX Filed NOV. 5, 1964 (3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FZE 4- x 5 1r. "."Y'TOR. 6/ 4. Kzzso lira/maxi United States Patent 3,273,728 REAR UNLOADING BOX Elgin L. Kelso, Benson, Minm, assignor to Tyler Corporation, a corporation of Minnesota Filed Nov. 5, 1964, Ser. No. 409,255 9 Claims. (Cl. 214-82) The present invention has relation to a rear unloading box of the false end gate-type and more particularly to a box having a movable false end gate or platen which has mechanism thereon to completely scrape the box each time it is moved to eject material from the box so that there is no build-up of material on the interior walls of the box.

Many different types of rear unloading boxes have been utilized in the past. Each of them has had a box having a platen or false end [gate movable from the forward portion of the box to the rear to force the material in the box out through an end opening at the rear.

One of the basic problems of these boxes has been the handling of sticky material, such as bituminous paving material. The material adheres to the sides of the box and the bottom of the box and will build-up until breakage or malfunction occurs.

The device of the present invention, as disclosed, presents an improved platen for rear unloading boxes that has suitable scrapers thereon for scraping or wiping the sides of the box and the bottom of the box. The scrapers are designed so that irregularities which normally occur in the bottom of the box will not substantially af- [feet the operation of the scrapers and a thoroughly scraped, clean box is obtained each time.

In addition, the platen is carried by rollers moving on a track at the top of the box itself so that the platen always remains in its proper position. The scraper members are self-loading so that the harder the force necessary to move the material from the box, the harder the scraper will be urged against the surface they are scrapmg.

It is an object of the present invention to present a rear unloading box having an improved platen construction.

In the drawings,

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of la semi-trailer box utilizing a platen made according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the device of FIG. 1 with parts in section and parts broken away;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken as on line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged top plan view of the platen of the device of FIG. 1 with parts in section and parts broken away;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken as on line 55 in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken as on line 66 in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken as on line 7--7 in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken as on line 8-8 in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of the scraper members used for scraping material from the floor of the box of FIG. 1.

Referring to the drawings and the numerals of reference thereon, an unloading trailer illustrated generally at 10 is of the semi-trailer type and has a box 11 supported on longitudinal frame members 12 which in turn are mounted on a running gear 13 at the rear portions thereof. The running gear and trailer bed are of standard design known in the trade.

The forward sections of the longitudinal frame members 12 are supported on a fifth wheel v14 which in turn 3,273,728 Patented Sept. 20, 1966 is mounted on the bed 15 of the semi-trailer tractor 16. The tractor 16 is driven through a suitable engine in a conventional manner.

The semi-trailer 10 has a plurality of spaced horizontal box supports 17 extending out from the frame members 12 and these supports, together with the frame members 12 support a bottom panel or wall 20 of the trailer. Upright supports or members 21 are fixed to the horizontal supports .17 and side panels or walls 22 are fastened to the members 21 at opposite sides of the box and are joined to the bottom panel 20. In addition, the trailer has a front end plate 23 joining the side walls 22, 22. As can perhaps best be seen in FIG. 3, the upper portions of the walls 22 are bent over to form flanges 24.

The flanges 24 are supported on the upright supports 21 on each side of the box and extend from the front to the rear of the box. In addition, a separate channel track member 25 is attached to each of the flanges 24 on the top side thereof and the tracks extend from the front to the rear of the box.

At the rear of the box a pair of brackets 26, 26 are mounted on opposite sides of the box and fixed on top of the channel track members 25. An end gate 27 is pivotally mounted with pins 30 to the brackets 26, 26. The bottom end portion 31 of the end gate can be latched in place thereby closing the space between the side walls 22, 22. The end gate can be released through suitable mechanism. When released it is free to swing to position as shown in FIG. 2 to allow material to be dumped out through the end of the box 12.

The material in the trailer box is unloaded in the device of the present invention through the use of a false end gate or platen mounted Within the structure and which may be moved from the front to the rear thereof. The platen assembly illustrated generally at 35 includes a main platen pusher panel 36 which has a rearwardly inclined lower portion 37 and further, has a header member 38 which is extended upwardly above the edges of the box and is inclined rearwardly and upwardly. The header 38 is fixed to the main portion 36. The lower portion 37 is spaced slightly from the bottom panel 20, at a lower edge thereof and the main panel 36 has side members that are spaced slightly from the side panels 20, 20 of the box. The platen 35 is supported at the top by a pair of carriers 41, 41 which are fixed to the upper portions of the platen and extend forwardly therefrom. Each of the carriers 41, 41 has an upper member 42 that fits over the tracks 25. Each of the upper members 42 mounts a pair of rollers 43 which run inside the tracks 25. As can be seen, the two rollers on each of the carriers are longitudinally spaced apart and this provides stability for the platen and keeps the platen properly positioned. The rollers will engage either the upper or the lower legs of the tracks 25 so that the platent cannot twist during operation.

The lower portions of the platen are guided and supported with a longitudinally extending guide member 44 which is fixed to the bottom panel 20 of the truck. A housing sleeve 45 is mounted over the guide member and in turn is fixed to the platen assembly 35. The sleeve 45 is elongated in longitudinal direction, as shown, to provide adequate stability to the platen and also prevent it from twisting or cooking about a vertical axis during use. Suitable gussets 46 can be used for firmly holding the sleeve 45 to the platen. A pair of suitable inserts 47 of a bearing material can be placed in the sleeve 45. The bearings will ride on the guide 44.

In order to insure that the side panels 22, 22 and the bottom panel 20 are thoroughly scraped when the platen moves rearwardly to dump a load, as will be more fully explained later, unique scrapers are attached to the platen. As can perhaps best be seen in FIGS. 3, 4 and 8,

each of the side panels 22 of the trailer is scraped with a wing or scraper member 50 which is pivotally mounted to the main panel 36 with hinge members 51. The hinge members 51 are positioned so that the pivotal axes of the wings 50 are inclined from the vertical, as shown. The lower portions of the wings 50, as can be seen in FIG. 8, are cut away to clear a shield member 52 which is attached to the main panel 36 and extends rearwardly and downwardly from its attachment point and is spaced from the bottom portion 37 of the main panel a slight distance. The purpose of the shield 52 will be more fully explained later.

Further, the wings 50 extend at their rearward edge down to the bottom panel 20 of the trailer and when the platen is moved in a rearward direction, the force of material in the box will act to force these Wings outwardly against the sides of the trailer to cause a scraping action along the sides. The angle of the hinge members 51 and the forces on the material being moved by the platen result in the outward force on the wings and the resultant scraping action.

In order to scrape the bottom panel 20 of the trailer, a plurality of individual scraper members 53 are hingedly attached with suitable hinge members 54 to the lower portion 37 of the platen assembly. The lower portion 37, as stated previously, slopes downwardly and rearwardly and the hinge members are attached near the lower end thereof. The scraper members are of size so that they will extend rearwardly and contact the bottom panel 20 at a point rearward of the platen.

Each of the hinge members 54 as shown, has a small section attached to the platen, and a longer section 55 attached to the scraper members themselves. A rod 56 is used through these hinge members for fastening them together.

The scraper members 53 are individually mounted so that each one will move independently of the other scrapers. As can be seen in FIG. 5, the shield member 52 contacts the scraper members and holds them in contact with the floor 20. The shield member 52 also keeps material from jamming the hinges for the scrapers. The individual scrapers can drop down into pockets or depressions in the floor 20, or can raise up over irregularities in the floor.

The platen member is actuated through the use of multi-stage telescoping cylinder-piston assembly 60. The cylinder-piston assembly is of the type that has several telescoping sleeves fitted inside one another so that it can extend to great lengths and compress into a relatively short length. As shown, the large or base section 61 of the cylinder assembly is attached as at 62 to an end wall 63 of a housing 64 which in turn is fixedly attached to the main panel 36 of the platen 35 and extends from the platen toward the rear of the box. An outer end or rod section 65 of the cylinder is mounted onto the front wall 23 of the trailer as at 66. The housing 64 shields the assembly from material in the trailer, and prevents the material from causing undue damage to the hydraulic cylinder assembly.

Suitable conduits 67 and 68, respectively, are used for carrying fluid under pressure from a pressure source (not shown) to the cylinder. The cylinder is a doubleacting cylinder and hydraulic pressure introduced through conduit 68 is supplied through internal connections to cause retraction of the rod.

Multi-stage cylinders similar to that shown in the drawings are available commercially and any suitable type cylinder can be used. As shown in FIG. 2, the cylinder will extend to force the end gate or platen assembly 35 toward the rear of the trailer 12. The pressure is supplied by a pump driven through the conventional power take-off of the tractor 16. Such pumps and other controls are well-known in the art.

On top of the guide member 44, a separate channel shaped scraper blade 70 is hingedly mounted to the platen 35 and a small spring 71 positioned between the housing 64 and the scraper is utilized for forcing this scraper blade toward the top of the guide member 44 to keep all of the material off the guide member as the platen moves forwardly. The small spring 71 insures that this scraper blade will not ride up as it moves rearwardly.

The channel shaped scraper blade 70 has leg or side members 72 that fit tightly over the guide 44 and scrape the side walls of the guide member as the platen moves rearwardly. The spring 71 keeps the channel down in place on the guide member. As shown, a compression spring is used, but any other suitable type of spring can also be used.

A spring shield 73 is fixed to an under wall of housing 64 (the wall is spaced up from the guide member 44) and shields the spring from material in the box as the platen moves rearwardly. The material thus cannot cause malfunction of the spring. The shield 73 has a removable portion to permit access to the spring.

Operation When the unit is to be operated, the platen is retracted by compressing the cylinder assembly 60 so that it is at position as shown in FIG. 1, adjacent the front of the trailer. Material is then loaded into the trailer, after the rear end gate 27 has been closed, and the unit is moved to the place where the material is to be dumped. The end gate 27 is then released so it will pivot to position as shown in FIG. 1, the fluid under pressure is introduced into the cylinder 60 to force the cylinder and platen toward the rear of the truck. As this occurs, the platen engages the material and will force it outwardly through the end gate. It is important to note that the carriers 41 will hold the platen properly, as will the center guide member 44, which prevents the platen from twisting about an upright axis.

However, the most critical feature is that the wings 50, 50 and the scraper plates 53 and 70 will be forced against the side walls 22, 22 and bottom 20, respectively, under the force from the material and will scrape the bottom and side walls completely clean as the platen moves rearwardly. This will prevent any material from building up on the walls of the trailer.

The wings 50 will be forced outwardly against the side walls 22, 22 and the scrapers 53 will be forced against the bottom wall. The scrapers can float slightly to meet irregularities of the side walls or bottom wall and will always insure that a thorough scraping job is done. The center guide rail is also scraped thoroughly.

The scraping and the mounting of the scrapers is especially important where material, such as bituminous surfacing material is being carried in the trailers. If this is not removed while it is fresh, it will build up and adhere very tightly to the walls or bottom of the trailer and cause great problems when the trailer is to be used again. This does not occur with the present invention, as each time the platen is moved rearwardly, the box is scraped completely clean.

Further, the scrapers can be used with any type of material in the box and are easily replaced when they wear.

The hydraulic cylinder is retracted by operating suitable valves after the box is empty and the box is then again ready to be filled.

. What is claimed is:

1. An unloading box comprising a bottom panel, a pair of side wall panels spaced apart and attached to said bottom panel at opposite sides thereof, a rear opening in said box, a platen slidably mounted in said box for movement from the front to the rear thereof, said platen including a pair of side wing members hingedly attached thereto and extending outwardly and rearwardly therefrom, said side wing members being adapted to engage the side panels of J said box and scrape the sides of said box as said platen moves from the front to the rear thereof, and a plurality of individual bottom panel scraper members hingedly attached adjacent the lower portions of said platen and adapted to engage the bottom of said box as said platen is moved from the front to the rear.

2. The combination as specified in claim 1 wherein said individual scraper members adjacent the bottom of said platen extend downwardly and rearwardly and are hinged about a substantially horizontal axis.

3. The combination as specified in claim 2 wherein said platen is supported on track means adjacent the upper edges of said side panels of said box.

4. The combination as specified in claim 3 and a longitudinally extending guide rail positioned substantially on the longitudinal axis of said box, said guide rail being substantially square in cross section, and a sleeve adapted to fit over said guide rail, said sleeve being fixed to said platen and being of sufiicient length to prevent said platen from twisting about an upright axis as it moves from the front to the rear of the box.

5. The combination as specified in claim 4 and hydraulic power means for moving said platen from the front to the rear of said box.

6. The combination as specified in claim 5 and a separate channel shaped scraper member for said guide rail, said channel shaped scraper member being hingedly attached to said platen and having a top wall and a pair of said walls which tightly engage the exposed walls of said guide member, and resilient means urging said scraper toward said guide member.

7. A mobile unloading box having a bottom panel, a pair of side wall panels spaced apart and attached to said bottom panel at opposite sides thereof, a rear opening in said box, a platen slidably mounted in said box for movement from the front to the rear thereof, said platen including a pair of side wing members hingedly attached thereto and extending outwardly and rearwardly therefrom, said side win g members being adapted to engage the side panels of said box and scrape the sides of said box as said platen moves from the front to the rear thereof, the hinge axes of said wings being located so that force of material on the wings urges said wings toward the side panels, and a plurality of individual bottom panel scraper members hingedly attached adjacent the lower portions of said .platen and adapted to engage the bottom of said box as said platen is moved from the front to the rear, the hinge axes of said bottom panel scrapers being located so that the force for material on the members urges them toward the bottom panel.

8. The combination as specified in claim 7, a guide rail for guiding the platen as it moves longitudinally in said box, and a separate channel shaped scraper member for said guide rail, said channel shaped scraper member being hingedly attached to said platen and having a top wall and a pair of side walls which tightly engage the exposed walls of said guide member, and resilient means urging said scraper toward said guide member.

9. The combination as specified in claim 8, and a shield member fixed to said platen and extending to overlie the hinges for said bottom scraper members.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS OTHER REFERENCES 4/1933 France.

MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT G. SHERIDAN, GERALD M. FORLENZA,

Examiners. 

1. AN UNLOADING BOX COMPRISING A BOTTOM PANEL, A PAIR OF SIDE WALL PANELS SPACED APART AND ATTACHED TO SAID BOTTOM PANEL AT OPPOSITE SIDES THEREOF, A REAR OPENING IN SAID BOX, A PLATEN SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN SAID BOX FOR MOVEMENT FROM THE FRONT TO THE REAR THEREOF, SAID PLATEN INCLUDING A PAIR OF SIDE WING MEMBERS HINGEDLY ATTACHED THERETO AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY AND REARWARDLY THEREFROM, SAID SIDE WING MEMBERS BEING ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE SIDE PANELS OF SAID BOX AND SCRAPE THE SIDES OF SAID BOX AS SAID PLATEN MOVES FROM THE FRONT TO THE REAR THEREOF, AND A PLURALITY OF INDIVIDUAL BOTTOM PANEL SCRAPER MEMBERS HINGEDLY ATTACHED ADJACET THE LOWER PORTION OF SAID PLATEN AND ADAPTED TO ENGAGE THE BOTTOM OF SAID BOX AS SAID PLATEN IS MOVED FROM THE FRONT TO THE REAR. 